Co-ops fit social trend

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Published: June 25, 2009

As co-op leaders gathered in Ottawa last week to celebrate a centenary, they saw a chance for the movement to be a growing part of an old idea becoming new again.

The local food movement, a consumer reaction to the globalization of the food system, has become a multibillion-dollar business in Canada and co-operatives see an opportunity.

A survey by the Canadian Co-operative Association celebrating 100 years last week found more than 2,300 local food initiatives across Canada, 10 percent of them co-operatives.

“Co-operatives have a long history in helping producers market their products and meet consumer demand,” said the report.

Read Also

View of a set of dumbbells in a shared fitness pod of the smart shared-fitness provider Shanghai ParkBox Technology Co. at the Caohejing Hi-Tech Park in Shanghai, China, 25 October 2017.

Smart shared-fitness provider Shanghai ParkBox Technology Co. has released a new version of its mobile app and three new sizes of its fitness pod, the company said in a press briefing yesterday (25 October 2017). The update brings a social network feature to the app, making it easier for users to find work-out partners at its fitness pods. The firm has also introduced three new sizes of its fitness boxes which are installed in local communities. The new two-, four- and five-person boxes cover eight, 18 and 28 square meters, respectively. ParkBox's pods are fitted with Internet of Things (IoT) equipment, mobile self-help appointment services, QR-code locks and a smart instructor system employing artificial intelligence. 



No Use China. No Use France.

Well-being improvement can pay off for farms

Investing in wellness programs in a tight labour market can help farms recruit and retain employees

“Co-operative grocery stores represent the largest percentage of co-operatives involved in local food initiatives, followed closely by farmers’ market co-operatives.”

With a growing consumer appetite to buy local as their great-grandparents did, the CCA study predicted the movement will expand.

“We anticipate and hope that co-operatives will be part of that growth.”

At a workshop on local food during the CCA annual meeting June 18, Doreen Collins from the Ontario agriculture and food ministry said it is estimated that local food initiatives contribute up to $3 billion to the Canadian economy.

She said customers are attracted by how it helps local farmers and the economy, offers fresher food and higher quality.

Marie-Paule Robichaud of the Quebec co-operatives council said it is the model many Quebec local food projects use.

“Co-ops are more mission oriented than money oriented and it fits,” she said. “Their mission is to offer a service. Local consumption is not a trend. It is a new social model, a new way to organize and live your life.”

Meanwhile, the CCA used the meeting to announce the Canadian voted the “greatest Canadian co-operator.”

Alphonse Desjardins, the founder of the Quebec-based Caisse Desjardins system of credit unions that now is expanding across Canada, won the honour in an online vote. He died in 1920.

The Desjardins Group is Canada’s sixth largest financial institution.

The 2009 Canadian Co-operative Achievement Award went to Glen Tully, president of Federated Co-operatives Ltd. based in Saskatoon.

explore

Stories from our other publications